Numbers 1:50

²¹These are the amounts of materials used for the tabernacle, even the Tabernacle of the Testimony, as they were counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.

¹⁸When he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses the two tablets of the covenant, stone tablets, written with God’s finger.

¹⁵“When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp moves forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it; but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. The sons of Kohath shall carry these things belonging to the Tent of Meeting.

¹¹Moses lifted up his hand, and struck the rock with his rod twice, and water came out abundantly. The congregation and their livestock drank.

²³The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward.

²⁴Eliasaph the son of Lael shall be the prince of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. ²⁵The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting, ²⁶the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and its cords for all of its service.

²⁷Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites. These are the families of the Kohathites. ²⁸According to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred keeping the requirements of the sanctuary.

²⁹The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the south side of the tabernacle. ³⁰The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ³¹Their duty shall be the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, the screen, and all its service. ³²Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites, with the oversight of those who keep the requirements of the sanctuary.

³³Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites. These are the families of Merari. ³⁴Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred.

^35[+] The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They shall encamp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its instruments, all its service, ³⁷the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, and their cords.

³⁸Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses, with Aaron and his sons, keeping the requirements of the sanctuary for the duty of the children of Israel. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death.

¹⁰I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had each fled to his field. ¹¹Then I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is God’s house forsaken?” I gathered them together, and set them in their place. ¹²Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the oil to the treasuries. ¹³I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were counted faithful, and their business was to distribute to their brothers.

²⁶then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the LORD’s side, come to me!” All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

²⁷He said to them, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and every man kill his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’” ²⁸The sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. About three thousand men fell of the people that day. ²⁹Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, for every man was against his son and against his brother, that he may give you a blessing today.”

¹Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel. ²He gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. ³The Levites were counted from thirty years old and upward; and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand. ⁴David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of the LORD’s house, six thousand were officers and judges, ⁵four thousand were doorkeepers, and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made for giving praise.”

⁶David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

⁷Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei. ⁸The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, Zetham, and Joel, three. ⁹The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan. ¹⁰The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah didn’t have many sons; therefore they became a fathers’ house in one reckoning.

¹²The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. ¹³The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister to him, and to bless in his name forever. ¹⁴But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. ¹⁷The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸The son of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief, and Isshiah the second.

²¹The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. ²²Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only; and their relatives, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. ²³The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

²⁴These were the sons of Levi after their fathers’ houses, even the heads of the fathers’ houses of those who were counted individually, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of the LORD’s house, from twenty years old and upward. ²⁵For David said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people; and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶Also the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service.” ²⁷For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were counted, from twenty years old and upward. ²⁸For their duty was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the LORD’s house—in the courts, in the rooms, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of God’s house; ²⁹for the show bread also, and for the fine flour for a meal offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all measurements of quantity and size; ³⁰and to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise in the evening; ³¹and to offer all burnt offerings to the LORD on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before the LORD; ³²and that they should keep the duty of the Tent of Meeting, the duty of the holy place, and the duty of the sons of Aaron their brothers for the service of the LORD’s house.

²⁵they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, the covering of sealskin that is on it, the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting, ²⁶the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the gate of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and whatever shall be done with them. They shall serve in there. ²⁷At the commandment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burden and in all their service; and you shall appoint their duty to them in all their responsibilities. ²⁸This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the Tent of Meeting. Their duty shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

²⁹“As for the sons of Merari, you shall count them by their families, by their fathers’ houses; ³⁰you shall count them from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old—everyone who enters on the service, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting. ³¹This is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, ³²the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service. You shall appoint the instruments of the duty of their burden to them by name. ³³This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

²²I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me for this also, my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your loving kindness.